SE Asia is for new species

If you want to plan a vacation, may I suggest Southeast Asia? There are so many species being discovered there on a daily basis that there are probably a ton of sponsored research trips to tag onto.

From National Geographic:

December 15, 2008--Gumprecht's green pit viper is among at least 1,068 new species that have been discovered in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong River region in the last ten years--an average of two a week, the international conservation group WWF announced today.

"We don't know of any other place on the planet that has the same rate of discovery," said Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, in a statement. The Greater Mekong includes areas of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Discovered in northeastern Thailand in 2002, the newfound snake species grows to about 4 feet (130 centimeters). Like all pit vipers, it hunts prey by sensing heat through small pits in the sides of its face.

The only down side to the SE Asian research vacation? You may have to find stuff like this green pit viper, a cyanide spitting hot pink centipede or the biggest spider in the world.

Awesomeness broken down to elemental units

These are some of my new favorite elements according to the periodic tales of awesoments (click the pic to get a closer look)
TBa - Teleporting Mr. T
SkBr - Shark Beer
BhKl - Black hole Kool-Aid
NcSo - Nunchuck guitar solos
Make your own!
via Boing Boing

Magnetic Portals

Today I thought I would share what I learned about Flux Transfer Events (or FTEs). Why? Because it's a crazy thing that exists...and I've been watching a lot of sci fi.

An FTE is an opening between the Sun's and the Earth's magnetic fields that allows particles to travel directly between the two. Particles are usually carried from Sun to Earth on the solar wind, which was thought to be relatively consistent, like a springtime breeze. These particles would either end up bouncing off the Earth's magnetic field or find their way into the atmosphere along a magnetic field line. But, scientists now can prove that there are actual portals that open (about every 8 minutes) when the magnetic fields of the Earth and Sun intersect, that allow huge amounts of particles to zip from Sun to Earth in ways that one scientist described, as only a scientist could, as "bursty." Why are these important? That question is addressed by my favorite line in the livescience.com article that inspired this post. These FTEs "form important conduits of energy for the Earth's magnetosphere."

Next week, WTF is an magnetosphere?

Word of the day

The "Goldilocks Zone" is the term astronomers use for a narrow band of space in the universe where the conditions exist for an Earth-like planet and therefore, Life. In other words, where conditions are "just right." More on how and why scientists are starting to postulate that may no longer be the case over at i09.

For Shame

I just made my first official purchase from iTunes. It was scarily sudden and simple. Why do I feel like such a dirty sell out? I feel worse about getting music I've paid for than I do downloading something for free off a blog. I hope it doesn't become a habit.

Since it would be cruel and unusual to leave you with something as pointless as that previous paragraph, try wrap your head around this completely unrelated but fascinating piece of literature.

No this is not Sci-Fi

This is an actual cave in Mexico, only recently discovered in 2000. It was a veritable crystal factory for tens of thousands of years, sitting under just the right conditions of mineral filled water, heat and time until the 1980s when a mining company accidentally drained the cave. If these crystals look huge, its because they are the biggest on Earth. Some of them weigh in at over 50 tons. Because the mining company drained the cave they have to be extremely careful about who goes in there. The lack of water, introduction of other natural gases and air temp can all effect the crystals, possibly causing them to collapse. So for now, marvel at the photos and check the story from National Geographic about the authors trip into the stifling cave.

The Big Picture

I've found myself back on the Boston Globe website time and time again checking out photo stories that run on this page called "The Big Picture." Most likely it's because they fit into my bite-sized news gathering routine (mostly done while at the office between emails), maybe some of it is my fascination with photograph and visual mediums, maybe its just the nerd in me. But I found myself there again today looking at a couple of features; one on the Sun, the other on the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. I've seen Arthus-Bertrand's coffee table book before, but it's been a while and the photos remain breathtakingly interesting. Looks like he's added to his collection and will be opening an exhibit of 150 4'x6' prints in NYC. Us Californians will have to wait until 2010 when it comes here (probably in Santa Monica, they get all the good outdoor installations).

Large Hadron Collider LIft Off

In honor of the LHC blasting off at CERN today, I found this comic at Boing Boing that gives a great description of the process in what we physicists call "layman's terms."
Its pretty small so you can get a better view at the comics site, PHD Comics.
See my previous post on CERN and the LHC.
UPDATE: Read more at the NYT. Thanks AB.

Word of the day 8.15.09

Lithopanspermia - The theory that life can be carried between planets on rocks ejected by impacts
-courtesy of this post on i09.

Physics fun

The Large Hardon Collider (or LHC as the scientists call it) began tests this weekend in prep for a Sept. 10th lift off. This may not mean much to many people, but the conspiracy theorists are all over it. According to the best ones, the first collision will produce a mini-black whole and suck most of Europe into it (oh heavens!). But on top of that, its a pretty interesting step forward for the science community and will be very exciting for scientists to be able to study things that they haven't been able to see before, ever! There are some great stories at i09 and Popular Mechanics.

But today, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has announced that the LHC will go online on September 10. On that day, researchers will activate particle beams within the 17-mile-long ring, and the world’s most powerful—and most talked about—particle accelerator will begin collecting experimental data. The LHC’s research potential is staggering, with physicists hoping to use the accelerator’s extremely high-energy proton collisions to generate a range of theoretical particles. Some of those particles could help us to understand the nature of mass, including the as-yet-undetectable dark matter that accounts for so much of the universe’s mass. Other particles might prove the existence of extra dimensions, or lead to entirely new theories or physical laws.

See?! Told you it was exciting!

Water Water Everywhere!

They found water on the moon (care of Nat'l Geo). So, by my amateur calculations, we have water on Earth, Jupiter's moons, Mars and the Earth's moon. Only life on Earth though, unfortunately.

Anyway, back to the moon. They JUST discovered water molecules embedded in volcanic glass beads that were brought back from the moon by the Apollo missions in the 60s and 70s. Pretty startling stuff, especially because it throws a wrench in astronomers' long held theory that the moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago by a planet colliding with earth. For that to happen, the explosion would have reached a certain temp (that of molten solids) and would have vaporised the molecules that form water. So, the debate rages.

For some cool facts on the Moon, go here.

Drugs are meaningful

Recommended reading of the day. Basically, people who have taken psychedelic drugs consistently rank the experience "as the most, or one of the five most, personally meaningful and spiritually significant (experiences) of their lives." click through for more from Boing Boing and the researchers from Johns Hopkins.

Ice? wOOt!

The Mars Rover discovered water ice on the surface of Mars. This is one of the biggest discoveries in the history of the space program I would have to imagine. Start here at the LAist for the story, including why I used wOOt in the title.

5 superpowers that could be yours!

Apparently, according to this very trustworthy site (ahem), science will give us five superpowers in our lifetime. A number of them have to do with my favorite past time, Nanotechnology (coincidence? I think not). The list, modeled closely after the abilities of some of your favorite super heroes, is pretty entertaining. Can you guess the superhero?
5. Technologically advanced battle suit
4. Telekinesis
3. Web slinging and wall climbing (too easy)
2. Fast healing wounds via tissue regeneration
1. Invisibility

Check out the explanations.

Intellectual pursuit of the day

The headline is inflammatory, but the story, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" from this month's The Atlantic is a comprehensive look at how communication and media has shifted society and the structure of the human brain throughout history. Its a beast at over 4 full Internet pages of text only (what? Does that ever happen anymore?), but chock full of history. Its an interesting look at the ability of the human brain to rewire itself based on how it interacts with information and how the Internet, by monitoring and hosting our perceptions of the world, is turning our brains from a dense forest of information and reasoning to a "flat pancake" of processing tasks refined to track down information (Googling info). In other words, go read a book this weekend.

Nanocleansers

I have to admit, I'm completely fascinated with anything related to nano-technologies. Today's gnarly-nano moment comes courtesy of potassium manganese oxide fibers (wtf?). Scientists at MIT have crafted sheets of this stuff which acts like a paper towel for oil and basically sucks up oil and nothing else (even pulling it from water). It was designed to pick up oil from the oceans and does so remarkably well - it can hold up to 20 times its weight in oil. Oil that can later be extracted and used. Plus, it's apparently affordable to produce and it's recyclable.

Stellacci explained that there are other materials that can absorb oils from water, "but their selectivity is not as high as ours." In other words, conventional materials still absorb some water, making them less efficient at capturing the contaminant.

The new material appears to be completely impervious to water. "Our material can be left in water a month or two, and when you take it out it's still dry," Stellacci said. "But at the same time, if that water contains some hydrophobic contaminants, they will get absorbed."

Made of potassium manganese oxide, the nanowires are stable at high temperatures. As a result, oil within a loaded membrane can be removed by heating above the boiling point of oil. The oil evaporates, and can be condensed back into a liquid. The membrane--and oil--can be used again.

Link to MIT News which has a short video
Link to the post on gizmodo

If you have a nano fetish like me, you may also like the blog behind my first post ever - io9

Sex=Heroin

Wow, I just read one really interesting piece of internet editorial and considering the amount of time I spend on the internet, that is saying something. Its about the "Coolidge effect" which is basically a name for the body's quest for new sexual partners and also somewhat of an explanation of why people pursue new partners compulsively, even if they already have someone. It's not an excuse or even a justification of that behavior, it's an explanation of how that behavior is tied to dopamine's addictive nature, genetic evolution and the human brain. When you have sex with someone new your brain releases more dopamine than it does when you have sex with someone you have been sleeping with regularly. It's a better chemical high. It happens in all animals (though I can't remember if they actually tested it in humans - if you learn it in the article post it in the comments). Of course, it's the end of the article that ties it all together and brings rationality back into the picture (so we all don't run out and sex ourselves silly, fun as it may be), a committed and trusting relationship lengthens life and improves health more than any amount of sex will ever do. Submitting to the Coolidge effect actually depletes health and well being (at least in rats). I knew nothing about the site where all this info came from and it turns out to be somewhat of a hippie, new-age site, but definitely check the out Coolidge effect piece through the link above.

David Blaine - Record set

Following up on the David Blaine post from last week. He successfully set the world record for breath holding (is that even the correct term?) on Oprah today. Good for him. The AP covered it simply and I pasted it below.

CHICAGO (AP) - David Blaine set a new world record Wednesday for breath-holding, 17 minutes and 4 seconds.
The feat was broadcast live during "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled the 35-year-old magician from a water-filled sphere.
Blaine looked relaxed afterward and said the record was "a lifelong dream."
The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland's Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.
Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under its guidelines.
Previously, Blaine was buried alive for a week in a see-through coffin in New York and spent more than a month suspended from a glass box by the River Thames in London.

Nano photography

This post harkens back to my very first blog entry and can serve as an update on some of the crazy cool visuals made by nanotechnology. Wired has the slide show here.

David Blaine is at it again

As all scientists and most rational humans already know, at some point, mammals evolved from fish. As a result, even after millions of years of evolution, humans still have a couple of reflexes in our bodies that are triggered by water. One in particular, called the mamallian diving reflex, springs into action as soon as your face is submerged under water. Instantly your body tightens the capillaries and slows the heart rate so you don't use as much oxygen. Free diving has really exploited this reflex and now, "magician" aka "endurance artist" David Blaine is going to try to set the world record for holding one's breath. Its currently at 16 minutes - with lungs full of pure oxygen. Im not all that excited about the feat, though it is cool, what im excited about is the NYT article that talks about the human body and how is deals with things like lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide build up. Read more at the NYT.